‘One ebook, moreover known as “Python Rupture Route,” is an thoroughly doubtful effort. On its front quilt is a distorted label appropriated from the respected publisher McGraw Hill but subtly modified to “RcGraw Hill.” The ebook sides a biography of Alexis Jordan, its purported author, on the assist quilt that became stolen from the in style suspense author Dean Koontz. (“His novels are broadly described as suspense thrillers,” and many others.) Internal, there would possibly per chance be a completely a quantity of biography plagiarized from Jürgen Scheible, a German media artist.’

The book in question is titled Python Crash Course by Alexis Jordan. I was able to purchase a print copy of this book which was removed from Amazon by the time my copy arrived just two days later.

My trips to Book Carnival in Tustin, California are usually exciting. Known as a mystery and suspense bookstore, it has always had a special relationship with Dean Koontz. Part of that special relationship has included the ability for fans to drop off a limited number of books for Dean to sign while he signs his latest release.

That has now changed.

On May 29th, 2019, while picking up The Night Window and some additional books, I was told by Anne Saller, owner of Book Carnival, that Dean would no longer sign additional books. While his health “is good”, it is getting difficult for him to sign so many books. This was evident by the signature in my copy of Detours. (Above) While the news of only new releases being signed was sobering, it was tempered with better news. According to Anne, Dean has already finished three more books.

[I’d been wondering about this myself since there was not a pre-signed edition of The Night Window released as had been with all previous Jane Hawk novels. –Michael]

Over the past 15 years, the Kansas Department of Corrections banned those titles, and about 7,000 others, from its prisons across the state.

The department says it censors books and magazines that could threaten security. But others argue that the size of the list and the broad topics covered under censorship guidelines limit inmates’ education, make their time in prison that much less bearable and further cut them off from an outside world to which they’ll eventually return.

Interim corrections secretary Chuck Simmons said the department prioritizes safety over giving inmates an unlimited selection of books and magazines.

“We censor based on the impact, or potential impact, on the security and operations of the correctional facility,” he said. “There are other publications that the inmate has access to that can accomplish the same purpose in their education or rehabilitation goals.”

…

“Ultimately, it comes down to control of the population, which I think is especially reflected in the breathtaking array of books that Kansas has made a decision to ban,” she said in a phone interview. “Most of them, I think that the general population would agree are very nonsensical.”

The list includes biographies of musicians such as Kurt Cobain and Tupac, memoirs by raunchy comedians Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce and novels by bestselling authors like Nora Roberts and Dean Koontz.

Also banned are issues of comics like “Deadpool” and “The Walking Dead,” Japanese manga, and books and magazines about LGBTQ topics.

From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, this film looks not just at Anton’s impressive career, but at a broader portrait of the man. Born in the former Soviet Union to a family of artists, Anton and his parents came to the U.S. when he was six months old. He started acting at nine. He had a genuine curiosity and love for people, for art, and for family. And a willingness to explore, and be open with, the darker parts of himself. Love, Antosha explores his successes and his struggles, and let’s viewers get to know this extraordinary person the world was cheated from seeing grow old.

“What band are you in?” asked the man at the grocery store in Catskill, New York. He was addressing Joe Stefko, whose leonine mane, pegged jeans, and tight black T-shirt personify rock n’ roll.

“I’m not in a band,” Stefko replied. “I’m a book publisher. Really.”

Stefko said folks sometimes don’t believe him, but it’s true. Still, you can’t blame them for asking, as Stefko’s history hangs about him like an aura; before he launched his award-winning one-man publishing imprint, Charnel House, in 1989, he drummed with Meat Loaf and the Turtles. But you won’t find any of that on his company’s website. What you will find are beautiful, provocative, limited edition, signed books by Dean Koontz, Tim Powers, Stephen King (as Richard Bachman), and Harlan Ellison.

How did Stefko’s path twist from sweat-soaked stages to a restored 1790s farmhouse in the Catskill Mountains, where he, his wife, and Charnel House live?

In the past few weeks I’ve seen several tweets about this new word Dean coined in The Night Window: darkle. For the record, according to Merriam-Webster this word has been in the English language since 1800 and does not mean “to sparkle darkly.”

Early on in The Night Window the “Cooper Color Codes” are mentiond. What are they?

The most important means of surviving a lethal confrontation, according to Cooper, is neither the weapon nor the martial skills. The primary tool is the combat mindset, set forth in his book, Principles of Personal Defense.

The color code, as originally introduced by Jeff Cooper, had nothing to do with tactical situations or alertness levels, but rather with one’s state of mind. As taught by Cooper, it relates to the degree of peril you are willing to do something about and which allows you to move from one level of mindset to another to enable you to properly handle a given situation. Cooper did not claim to have invented anything in particular with the color code, but he was apparently the first to use it as an indication of mental state.

The following is from The Carry Book: Minnesota Edition, 2011:

White: Unaware and unprepared. If attacked in Condition White, the only thing that may save you is the inadequacy or ineptitude of your attacker. When confronted by something nasty, your reaction will probably be “Oh my God! This can’t be happening to me.”

Yellow: Relaxed alert. No specific threat situation. Your mindset is that “today could be the day I may have to defend myself”. You are simply aware that the world is a potentially unfriendly place and that you are prepared to defend yourself, if necessary. You use your eyes and ears, and realize that “I may have to shoot today”. You don’t have to be armed in this state, but if you are armed you should be in Condition Yellow. You should always be in Yellow whenever you are in unfamiliar surroundings or among people you don’t know. You can remain in Yellow for long periods, as long as you are able to “Watch your six.” (In aviation 12 o’clock refers to the direction in front of the aircraft’s nose. Six o’clock is the blind spot behind the pilot.) In Yellow, you are “taking in” surrounding information in a relaxed but alert manner, like a continuous 360 degree radar sweep. As Cooper put it, “I might have to shoot.”

Orange: Specific alert. Something is not quite right and has your attention. Your radar has picked up a specific alert. You shift your primary focus to determine if there is a threat (but you do not drop your six). Your mindset shifts to “I may have to shoot that person today”, focusing on the specific target which has caused the escalation in alert status. In Condition Orange, you set a mental trigger: “If that person does “X”, I will need to stop them”. Your pistol usually remains holstered in this state. Staying in Orange can be a bit of a mental strain, but you can stay in it for as long as you need to. If the threat proves to be nothing, you shift back to Condition Yellow.

Red: Condition Red is fight. Your mental trigger (established back in Condition Orange) has been tripped. “If ‘X’ happens I will shoot that person” — ‘X’ has happened, the fight is on.

The USMC uses “Condition Black,” although it was not originally part of Cooper’s color code.[7] According to Massad Ayoob, “Condition Black,” in Cooper’s youth, meant “combat in progress.”

In short, the color code helps one “think” in a fight. As the level of danger increases, one’s willingness to take certain actions increases. If one ever does go to Condition Red, the decision to use lethal force has already been made — the “mental trigger” has been tripped.[citation needed]

The following are some of Cooper’s additional comments on the subject.

Considering the principles of personal defense, we have long since come up with the color code. This has met with surprising success in debriefings throughout the world. The color code, as we preach it, runs white, yellow, orange, and red, and is a means of setting one’s mind into the proper condition when exercising lethal violence, and is not as easy as I had thought at first.

There is a problem in that some students insist upon confusing the appropriate color with the amount of danger evident in the situation. As I have long taught, you are not in any color state because of the specific amount of danger you may be in, but rather in a mental state which enables you to take a difficult psychological step. Now, however, the government has gone into this and is handing out color codes nationwide based upon the apparent nature of a peril. It has always been difficult to teach the Gunsite color code, and now it is more so.

We cannot say that the government’s ideas about colors are wrong, but that they are different from what we have long taught here. The problem is this: your combat mind-set is not dictated by the amount of danger to which you are exposed at the time. Your combat mind-set is properly dictated by the state of mind you think appropriate to the situation. You may be in deadly danger at all times, regardless of what the Defense Department tells you. The color code which influences you does depend upon the willingness you have to jump a psychological barrier against taking irrevocable action. That decision is less hard to make since the jihadis have already made it.

He further simplified things in 2005:

In White you are unprepared and unready to take lethal action. If you are attacked in White you will probably die unless your adversary is totally inept.

In Yellow you bring yourself to the understanding that your life may be in danger and that you may have to do something about it.

In Orange you have determined upon a specific adversary and are prepared to take action which may result in his death, but you are not in a lethal mode.

In Red you are in a lethal mode and will shoot if circumstances warrant.

Any fans in Ireland? The Irish Film Institute will be showing Demon Seed (oddly, with German subtitles) on 16 June 2019 as part of their Dark Skies film series. Check out all the details at the IFI Web site.

A bunch of odds & ends again this week with an answer to the question about the source of that art print I posted earlier this week. I’ve got a day off tomorrow so here’s hoping I can get a some of the Frankenstein entries knocked out.

Any recognize this? It an illustration for a piece by Dean. Do you recognize it? If so, or just have a guess, leave it in the comments. I’ll post the details in Monday’s site update. (Also, please excuse the reflection. I’ll try to get a better photo over the weekend.)